Noah Brown's History Blog

Noah Brown COT Essay

2009-11-17T17:24:00.000-08:00

Between the eighteenth and twentieth century, many different aspects of western society changed by an immense amount. The significance of this is that things such as Darwin's Theory of Evolution, and the steam train, have revolutionized society today. Through many different wars and revolutions, politics in this time period changed, especially in France and in the United States. Many outlooks on society also changed during this period, such as the emancipation of slavery. New ideas also spread, such as new steam engines, and new philosophies.
The change over time during this period concerning politics is significant because there was a drastic change in the way government functioned that differed greatly from other time periods. In 1776, the American Revolution made America a free nation, as opposed to being under European rule, and in 1789, George Washington became President of the United States, beginning a new era in history. 1789 also marked the time when the French Revolution began, and after it ended in 1815, the old French government no longer existed, and instead a new, fully redressed government stood in it's place. England, during the year of 1832, had made the Reform Bill of 1832, and in 1861 the American Civil War began. In 1870 through 1879, the third French Republic was instituted.
In this time period, intellect became more than just mere philosophy, and extended towards creating industrialized modes of transportation. The start of the Industrial Revolution began with the steam train, created in Europe in 1770, and some years later, in 1820, industrialization entered the United States. In 1859, Darwin revolutionized man's view on religion and how we perceive our own being by writing his origin of species, and introducing the Law of Natural Selection.
Society also changed in many ways during this period. Between 1730 and 1850, population boomed in the west because of the Industrial Revolution and the new found methods of harvesting food. In 1863, at the end of the American Civil War, slavery in the United States was emancipated. The emancipation of slavery is an incredibly major fact in this time period seeing as it was the abolition of a long lasting method of work in the west.
Although so much changed during this time period, something that did not change was the aesthetical view of art and poetry. This may not have been changed because it was something not necessarily new, or exciting.

Page 533, DBQ

2009-11-05T18:11:00.001-08:00

During the 19th century, the leaders of many countries, Europe, the United States, and Japan in particular, decided that an expansion of educational opportunity was extremely necessary. These leaders used a variety of different causes in order to justify their push towards education.
Several of the justifications that they used were involved with society. Albertine Necker de Saussure writes in 1838 that society sees women merely as wives, and young girls as future wives, however, she says that since women can support themselves without an education, and without a man, they would have much more potential to be something more if they were educated properly (Document #1). This point of view is predictable seeing as Albertine Necker de Saussure was a woman living in the 19th century, and the fact that she was a Calvinist, believing that all souls, meaning men and women alike, are equal before God. Another reason for education was pressed by Horace Mann in 1840, saying that an educated people would create a more stable society that could better follow the law (Document #2). Horace Mann's standing on this situation is obvious because was a Secretary of the board of education in Massachusetts. In 1874, Eliza Duffy explains her reasons for spreading education. She says that women wants to learn, and that they should be treated equally, although they do not learn in the same ways that men do. She also goes on to explain that the stronger women, and the unattractive women will lead the future (Document #3). This point of view is easily determined by the fact that Eliza Duffy was a leading feminist in the 19th century. The Japanese empire's account on the spread of education is that it will bring the utmost and highest honor to Japan if their people become educated and preserve their culture (Document #4). The Japanese also feel that they need to educate themselves in order to compete with the rest of the world. A stupid country simply wouldn't function the way that they wanted it to (Document #5).
Although the leaders in different societies noticed that society itself would benefit from better education, they also noticed that the people of these societies would benefit from intellect. Albertine Necker de Saussure explained that since women had the capacity to be educated, they should, and as an educated people could serve a better purpose (Document #1). Horace Mann expressed that an educated people could keep themselves under control, and that they could lead lawful lives, seeing as they would be more aware (Document #2). Eliza Duffy said that the expansion of education into the lives of women could not be stopped, and that they have the desire to learn (Docoment #3). In Document #4, Japan feels the need to expand education because intelligence and sophistication are coupled together, and with intelligent people they would pursue the cultivation of arts. However, Japan also wants to expand intellect because they believe that eastern teachings are "saturated with confucian teachings" and they want to be on the same educational level as the west (Document #5).
In conclusion, the leaders of Europe, the United States, and Japan justified their claims for an expansion of education by saying that it would enrich their cultures, and that it would make society more lawful and acceptable.
Additional documents that would assist in this evaluation would be another document from Europe so that a more rounded view of Europe's intentions in this situation could be more attainable.

Summer DBQ

2009-11-02T11:35:00.001-08:00

Noah Brown
Summer DBQ

Soon after the west's rise to power, a great amount of western influence spread to the eastern Asian countries, particularly Japan. Although the Japanese did not completely replicate the western styles, the fact that the Japanese borrowed so much is significant in showing the rise in influence that coupled the west's rise to power.
The Japanese Constitution of the Empire of Japan (Document #3) shows the different laws and rights of the Japanese people. Many of these laws, however, are very similar or identical to the laws of Western societies, especially concerning the rights and duties of subjects. During the Treaty of Portsmouth (Document #11), America acts as a kind of overseer during Japan's dealings with the Russians, debating over Manchuria. However, as America acts as a sort of role-model for the Japanese government, America does not want the Japanese to come into America because they are afraid of overpopulation, race contests, and violence (Document #1).
Document #10 shows the optimistic side of a Japanese man on tour in America. This man recognized the opportunity to trade with America via sea trade with Japan to California. This was beneficial for both societies, as it provided wealth and trade routes for Japan, and cut the shipping costs of goods for California by a large amount.
To better understand the influence of Western society on Japan, we can take a look at the Mei Prefectural Normal School (Document #2). It is clear in this document that western architecture has had an impact on Japan because the building has pillars, as well as very square windows. Japanese schools also took to the western way of having three periods of school which are similar to pre, middle, and high school (Document #6). Besides school, after Japan allowed Westerners to enter Japan, they had a new found competition with western business. With the new competition and extra opportunities to make a profit, silk and coal production in Japan skyrocketed (Document #7). Most of the trade was not conducted on the mainland, but was done by sea travel (Document #12).
Trade, architecture and education were not the only things that came out of Japan's connection with the Western world. New industrialized ships, along with new weapons of warfare such as bayonets were included. Western fighting styles were also incorporated into the Japanese way of battle (Document 9).
Although the Japanese and western customs were not entirely alike, the Japanese did, however, borrow many laws and styles of fighting, architecture, and family life. This is significant in showing how far the west's hegemony has spread.
An additional document that would be useful would be another one on the Japanese fighting styles, seeing as document 9 was somewhat vague.

DBQ on Euro Expansion

2009-10-22T19:12:00.000-07:00

Noah Brown
DBQ

The motives of the Europeans was simple: exploration. However, as they explored, they found that most of the native societies disgusted and somewhat insulted them. Although spreading disease through innocent investigation was not an intended consequence of the clashing of the two cultures, the destruction of the larger societies was.
Religion was a major motivator for the attack of the American natives. Document #1 shows the Europeans in 1497 C.E. observing the religion and worship style of the native Americans, finding that their lifestyles are far different than the common European's. What seems to be the first observation of the Europeans is the native's religion and their methods of worship. The Europeans note the "worse than pagan" ways of the Americans, and immediately places them under that category. The Europeans have a negative point of view towards the Americans, believing them to seek pleasure more than anything else in their religion. Document #2 clearly describes the utter distaste of the Europeans as they view the spectacle of the cannibalistic society in the Caribe Islands, disgusted by the fact that they eat the human flesh of the children born by the concubines taken from surrounding tribes.
Document #4, 1632, displays a negative point of view because of the inappropriate clothing, lack of trust, and abundance in thievery in North America, although the Europeans believe that they are only thieves because they are poor. However, document #3 expresses a quite opposite point of view when it came to the natives. Apparently giving up their native religion, the Natives of an island in Mexico converted completely to Christian Catholicism. The Mexican natives were very open minded and benevolent to the Europeans, and were very impressed by their goods. Document #5 shows the confusion of the Aztecs as the Europeans enter their lands, wielding unknown weapons, riding strange animals, and having very pale skin. However, the newcomers also brought with them terror and new diseases that caused the death of many native Americans. As is seen in this document there are extreme differences in he social aspect especially when it comes to
In conclusion, the driving force of the Europeans, at first, was mere exploration, which too had consequences, such as the deaths of thousands due to unknown European diseases (doc #5). However, as the European's religion was insulted (doc #1), and their imaginations shocked (doc #2), they were given a new motive to cause destruction to the native Americans. The consequences of this were that more societies like the islander Mexicans (doc #3) could have been spared, however, their lives ended in calamity.
An additional document that would help this DBQ would be a document with the point of view from an English non-Catholic explorer so that we could see how the Americans reacted to the protestant religion.

Khan Videos

2009-05-22T15:01:00.001-07:00

Genghis Khan Videos

Video #1
Battle Tactics
As seen in the video, the battle tactics of the Mongols were quite effective. Often the Mongols would perform a feint and regroup to slaughter the enemies. These tactics and battle plans were well thought through and made the Mongols as deadly as they were.

Were the Mongols ever defeated in battle?

Video #2
A Strong Leader
Temujin, after uniting all of Mongolia through conquest, was named Genghis Khan. Knowing that the Chinese would never let a powerful leader be so close to them, he decided to take the fight to them first. He crossed a desert, and invaded China.

What does "Genghis Khan" mean?

Video #3
Adaptation
The Mongols, while reinforced by the mercenaries they encountered, could not penetrate the Chinese capitol of Beijing. So instead, they made camp outside of the walls and stopped all supplies from getting inside of the city. They learned for themselves how to construct and use catapults and battering rams and feasted on the supplies that attempted to get into the city.

How did the Mongols get a hold of the schematics for the catapults and battering rams?

Video #4
Taken Risks
Laying siege on the starving city of Beijing seemed to be an easy feat at first, however the Chinese had much more advanced war technology. They shot bombs filled with oil, chemicals, and metal at the Mongolian troops. Despite the risks, Genghis Khan sent his troops toward the wall and soon took the city.

Why did a silk shirt worn by all of the Mongolians assist in stopping damage from arrows?

Video #5
Vengeance
After successfully establishing a permanent capitol at Karakorum, Genghis Khan attempted to establish a trade route with the west. However, soon after he had sent his ambassador, he received a package containing the same ambassador's head. Enraged, Genghis Khan sent an army of 200,000 strong to penetrate the west, and see how far they could get until they were stopped. They were not stopped, and Genghis Khan's empire grew to that of twice the size of the Roman Empire.

Why were the Mongolians met with very little resistance?

Video #6
Mortal
Although Genghis tried to find the elixir of eternal life by contacting a Daoist monk, he never did aquire the elixir, and he died due to bad health, leaving Ogedei as the great Khan.

Rex - Henry VIII

2009-05-14T06:33:00.000-07:00

    title="Wordle: Rex Henry VIII">    src="http://www.wordle.net/thumb/wrdl/847373/Rex_Henry_VIII"
    alt="Wordle: Rex Henry VIII"
    style="padding:4px;border:1px solid #ddd">

C/C essay Japan and Europe Feudalism

2009-05-11T14:03:00.000-07:00

Noah Brown

Compare/contrast essay

From about the 6th century onward, feudalism played a key part in the rise of western Europe, allowing lords to unite local regions, control large territories, and eventually create a monarchy; Japan used feudalism for the same purposes at around the time when feudalism in Europe was at it's peak. Feudalism in western Europe was quite similar to that in Japan in the fact that they were both highly militaristic, however, Europe had layers in hierarchy and emphasized more focus on contractual ideas; Japan pushed harder towards group and individual loyalties. The fact that this system developed independantly within two countries that had no contact with each other is because it was an efficient way of governing a large territory. Today, Europe is still regionalized as it was in the Feudal Age.
Feudal Europe made great advancements in the area of agriculture, designing the moldboard, a tougher version of the plow, and even creating the three field system, allowing farmers in Europe to utilize crop rotation. Manorialism, the political, economic, social system which peasants of medieval Europe were made dependent on their land and on their lord. Merchants in western Europe were on the higher end of the social hierarchy already established within Europe, and the hierarchy in Europe had layers to it, meaning it had a social hierarchy in it's classes, and it also had one within the church. The Feudal hierarchy in Europe when it came to society was that the kings controlled money and security, Nobles controlled agriculture, Merchants controlled trade, Priests controlled behavior, and Serfs controlled nothing but served as the labor force. The knights of Europe were bound more by contracts and the promise of land rather than Japan's Samurai who bound themselves by honor.
Feudal Japan was characterized most by it's aesthetic magnificence and the reigning warrior period. Japan held beauty in the highest esteem, and wrote some of the first novels including The Tale of Genji and The Pillow Book. Feudalism in Japan was a little different than Europe because the emperor was often the figurehead, and did not always actually rule. Merchants in Japan were on the bottom of the social ladder, unlike in Europe where merchants were on the higher end of the social classes the reason why is because Japan's religion, Buddhism, is against material things whereas Christianity in Europe was more focused upon. The Code of Bushido characterized the warriors, or samurai, of Japan by establishing an honor system where fidelity, simplicity, virility, and politeness were held very highly.

Out of the two Feudal Europe is the more memorable because of the incredibly powerful and important society that developed from the Feudal Age. Of course it is impossible to deny that feudal Japan also made great advancements concerning the subjects of literature and artistry. However, possibly due to geography, Europe became more powerful than any other civilization of that time.

DBQ #2 Treatment of Women in different societies + religions

2009-02-13T14:33:00.001-08:00

Noah Brown
DBQ -- Treatment of Women in Major Societies + Religions

In the post classical period, several major societies and religions developed some negative and positive principles concerning the proper treatment of women.
From the excerpt of the Koran in document #1, it states that women should have some property rights and that they should not be talked to harshly when they do not wish to go to bed with their husbands. The principle of the Islamic soceity concerning women is clearly shown in this document, the point of view is positive towards women and gives them more control over themselves and their property than most other religions allow.
However, document #2, a Jewish commentary, suggests that women are in fact to stupid to do something even as simple as saying Grace at the dinner table. Calling women stupider than an ignoramus, this negative point of view coming from Judasim defines the principles set in place concerning women and prayer.
In document #3, an excerpt from a legal code in Byzantium expresses the oppinion of a man wondering why the ancient authorities allowed women to have the right to be called as witnesses. He explains that women should not be allowed to be called as witnesses because they would be brought before large assemblies of men, and that they would speak more freely and openly than the female sex ought. Furthermore, he continues to say that it is an insult for women to do something authorized only for the male sex. The point of view in this document is obviously negative as it shows the restricting principles set forth by the Byzantine Empire.
Document #4, an excerpt from a Chinese book, argues that women often have an intelligence greater than that of their husbands, and can in fact live on without them because they have the capacity to learn, even in a society that believes they cannot. The document also says that women that prosper without the help of a spouse are worthy and wise. The point of view in this document is positive because it says that women have the capacity to strive without the assistance of a husband.
Document #5 defines a portion of the time that Ibn Battuta spent in Mali in 1352. He gives clear descriptions of how the men and women behave towards one another and seems a bit disgusted. Ibn Battuta explains that the men and women have friends amongst one another outside of the Islamic prohibited degrees. Ibn Battuta has a negative point of view in this document because his culture does not believe that women should have male friends beyond family, but the principle set by Mali is somewhat positive in the fact that it shows men and women treating one another as equals in their society.
I think that this paper would have benefited by having a document on the treatment of women in an Indian society, simply because of the fact that India is another great and influential society.
Some societies and religions have positive point of views towards women, saying that they are smart and helpful, and equal with men. But others feel the exact opposite, treating women as idiots rather than on the same level as men.

DBQ #2 Chart

2009-02-13T14:31:00.000-08:00

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pNcIVSPU8TMuxC0w5Iv7nNQ&hl=en

This is my chart about the principles several major societies and religions developed concerning the proper treatment of women.

History Assignment

2009-02-04T13:17:00.000-08:00

The Pillow Book is a collection of obervations
recorded by Sei Shonagon during her time as a
court lady in the 990's and early 1000's in Heian
Japan. The Pillow Book is one of the great
classics of Japanese literature and is by far our
most detailed source of factual material on life in
eleventh-century Japan at the height of Heian culture. In class we have discussed Japanese etiquette and aesthetics, and in The Pillow Book, it clearly stands out as you observe the elegant court life move about.

Chapter 12

2009-01-08T14:38:00.001-08:00

http://bubbl.us/edit.php

Poetry and Artistic Connections

2009-01-07T15:20:00.000-08:00

Poem

by Wang Wei,

A light boat sets off from the southern hill,
The north is hard to reach across the vastness.
On the other bank, I look for my home,
It cannot be recognised so far off.

Painting
http://depts.washington.edu/chinaciv/painting/4pmthgw1.gif

Connection:
In the painting it shows the ocean, and you cannot see far beyond the shore. In the poem, it speaks of a man that cannot see his home in the distance. It speaks of the vastness of distance between himself and his homeland, showing how small man really is in the world.

TRADE!!!!

2008-12-17T13:01:00.001-08:00

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pNcIVSPU8TMt16CzXqcXJVA&hl=en

2008-12-17T12:56:00.000-08:00

this is a link to my DBQ chart. It is about how trade was viewed upon by different people and societies.

DBQ

2008-12-17T12:55:00.000-08:00

Noah Brown

Trade in the Middle-East, Europe, and in some parts of the far east, trade was religiously looked down upon because it did not comply with many of the religious point of views and ethics. Trade was considered to be the occupation of a cheat, and was not accepted in most areas where there was a dominant world religion.

In documents 2, 4, and 5 we can see how religion conflicted with trade. In document 2 we can see that by the point of view of Muslims, Islam allows traders to remain in their occupation because it is a way of living. In document 4 we can see that by a Christian point of view, if traders should barter with Muslims, the Pope will have them excommunicated. In document 5 we see yet another Christian point of view on trade, and it explains that those who go to trade on trade days cannot attend Church, and therefore views trade in a negative fashion.

As seen in document 1 [Hadith, Islamic legal code, 8th century], early Islam and trade had conflict in the Muslim world because the people in the areas where the market places of Ukaz, Majanna and Dhul-Majaz are located, believed that it might be a sin. But the religion of Islam molded to this and stated that it was not a sin to trade (blessing of transaction). Because of this, trade flourished in those markets. Also in document 3 [Reginald of Durham, 12th century] it states that traders are allowed to become religious. Thus, religion molded to trade throughout different times and religions.

From a philosophical view in document 6, traders are yet again looked down upon and are viewed as insignificant and ignorant.

Nowhere in these documents do we see an India point of view on trade. That would be a great additional document and would add much more information. Plus a document from the Catholic Church to see how they used trade to raise money for the Church via selling parchment with a guarantee of arrival in heaven.

Islamic Women in Society

2008-11-20T16:27:00.001-08:00

Here is an article that talks about the treatment of women.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/stoke/content/articles/2008/10/22/ethnic_women_feature.shtml

I LIKE MY CHEEZ WIF APPLZE

Religion & Politics Assignment

2008-10-25T09:14:00.000-07:00

this link will take you to an article on the Beijing Review.

P.O.V Article (Israel)

2008-10-06T06:12:00.000-07:00

'Syria Banking on Obama Victory, Invites Advisors'
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/127867

-Gen. P.O.V: This article focuses on Barrack Obama winning the American presidential election, because they believe it will bring prosperity back to Syria, because the country is under American sanctions.
-Quoted People P.O.V: Ayman Abdel Nour says Syria wants Obama to win the American election because they want to help Syrian President Bashar Assad bring back prosperity to Syria.

Chapter Ten

2008-09-01T14:00:00.000-07:00

Title: Recent Stuff: Around 1914 to the Present

Summary: A. The World War I Era. B. The World War II Era. C. Communism and the Cold War. D. Independence Movements and Developments in Asia and Africa. E. Globalization and The World Since 1980.

Notes: A. The World War I Era

1. Germany, worried that France would want to get back at them for their defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, had Otto von Bismarck negotiate the Triple Alliance among Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary in the 1880s.

2. After Otto von Bismarck was booted by William II in 1890, William ignored Russia's previous agreements with Germany. With an alliance with Russia up for grabs, France jumped at the opportunity. Britain also signed a treaty with Russia and France, creating a force known as the Triple Entente.

3. The Schlieffen Plan in Germany was designed for an attack on France through Belgium, who was neutral at the time.

4. In 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, of Austira-Hungary, was killed by Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian nationalist. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, Russia allied with Serbia, and declared war on Austria-Hungary. Russia and Austria-Hungary were on opposite sides of the Triple Alliance and Triple Entente, France, Britain, Germany and Italy were pressured to join in.

5. Britain didn't want to join the war, but Germany enacted the Schlieffen Plan and stormed into France. Britain jumped in and helped.

6. Italy stayed out of the war, and declared itself neutral, but the Ottoman Empire took its place and forming alliance with Austria-Hungary and Germany. The three of them were called the Central powers.

7. Japan fought alongside Britain, France and Russia, and they were known as the Allies.

8. America was passive, till a German submarine sunk a British passenger liner with over 100 Americans on it. Germany also attacked American supply ships on their way to England. Then the Americans intercepted the Zimmerman telegram from Germany to Mexico. The telegram was an invitation for Mexico to join Germany, offering America to them. In 1917, America entered the war on the side of the Allies.

9. In 1918, after to much death, Germany and the Central Powers gave up.

10. Over 8.5 million soldiers were killed in World War I, and millions more civilians too.

11. The Treaty of Versailles in 1919 brought an official end to World War I, and required the Germans to pay repairs, give up territory and downsize their army. The treaty also split Austria-Hungary into two different nations.

12. President Wilson made a Fourteen Points speech, which was about building a better future.

13. In President Wilson's Fourteen Points speech, he called for the creation of a joint council of nations called the League of Nations. Not many countries joined the league at all.

14. The Russian Revolution began before World War I had even ended. Finding themselves lacking good leadership, in 1917, Czar Nicholas was forced to abdicate his throne.

15. Under Alexander Kerensky, a provisional government was established. It shared it's power with local councils, called soviets.

16. In 1918, Vladimir Lenin mobilized the support of the workers and soldiers. He issued his April Theses, which demanded peace, land for peasants and power to the soviets.

17. In 1918, the soviets signed an armistice with Germany, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ceded a huge piece western Russia to Germany. Russia dropped out of World War I, so it didn't need to sign the Treaty of Versailles.

18. The Red Army was a Russian military force under the command of Leon Trotsky. It was a sizable force that defeated counterrevolutionaries.

19. Because the Ottomans joined the losing Central Powers in World War I, they lost all of their land in the peace treaty, opening them up for attacks from Greece.

20. Mustafa Kemal led successful military campaigns against the Greeks, and then overthrew the Ottoman sultan. In 1923, Mustafa became the first president of Turkey.

Notes: B. The World War II Era

1. Vladimir Lenin first instituted the New Economic Policy in the early 1920s.

2. After Vladimir Lenin died, the leadership of the Communist party moved to Joseph Stalin.

3. Stalin successfully industrialized the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), and improved economical conditions for the country.

4. Millions of Soviets were murdered under Stalin's direction.

5. World War I cost lots of money. Countries spent more then $180 billion on armaments, boats, and trenches, and Europe spent an extra $150 billion rebuilding.

6. America sent Europe billions to help repair after WWI, mostly France and Germany were in need of the money.

7. When the U.S. stock market crashed in 1929, a spiral of monetary and fiscal problems called the Great Depression quickly turned into an international issue.

8. During the Great Depression, in both the U.S. and Germany, one third of the population was unemployed.

9. Italy was the first state to have a fascist government. The founder and leader was Benito Messolini, who created the National Fascist Party in 1919.

10. Benito Mussolini took control of Parliament in 1922.

11. The Nazis rose to power in the 1920s, ushered in by the Great Depression.

12. Adolf Hitler rose to power as the head of the Nazi Party, he argued that Jews should be eliminated and that Germany should rule Europe.

13. In the 1930s, as the Great Depression beat down on the German economy, Hitler gained more support.

14. In 1933, Hitler became chancellor, he then seized control of the government, and set his eyes on conquering Europe.

15. Hitler began to rebuild the German military, a violation of the Treaty of Versailles, but other countries chose not to object, for fear of war.

16. In early 1904, Germany assaulted Holland and Belgium. Two days later. Germany attacked France.

17. Hitler thought that Britain would be taken easily after France, but Winston Churchill replaced the more diplomatically minded Chamberlain. Churchill proved to be a strong minded prime minister.

18. The Japanese attacked Vietnam and took it. For trade reasons, America saw this as hostile, the U.S. froze their assets to Japan. The Japanese made war plans against the U.S. if they didn't unfreeze their connections. They didn't, and in 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor.

19. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the U.S. declared war on Japan, and Germany declared war on the U.S.

20. In 1944, the U.S., Canada and Britain launched their biggest attack, landing on the beaches of Normandy on what is now known as D-Day.

21. In 1945, Allied forces closed in on Berlin, as they went towards Hitler, he commit suicide.

22. When the Japanese would not give up on World War Two, the U.S. atomic bombed
Hirshoshima in 1945. When they still would not surrender, and so the President Truman ordered a second bombing on Nagasaki. The Japanese finally surrendered and WWII was over.

23. As many as 6 million Jews were killed during WWII, as well as millions more soldiers and civilians.

24. After WWII, the Allies believed that international organizations would help prevent future wars. The first of these organizations was the United Nations.

Notes: C. Communism and the Cold War

1. The Cold War lasted from 1945, to the early 1990s.

2. The Cold War was fought between the Russians and the U.S. because of their different views. The U.S. promoted capitalism and democracy, the Soviets promoted communism.

3. The Soviets wanted control of Berlin, and so cut off all land access to Berlin by land from the west, this was known as the Berlin Blockade.

4. B the late 1940s, Europe was divided East and West, each under the influence of the U.S. or the Soviet Union.

5. East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, and Romania became the Soviet Bloc.

6. The Western bloc was comprised of Britain, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, West Germany, and later on Greece and Turkey.

7. The Truman Doctrine stated that the U.S. would assist countries threatened by communist takeovers.

8. Sun Yat-sen, who lead the Chinese Revolution of 1911, took over China, and it became more westernized in order to kick the Europeans and Japanese out.

9. Sun Yat-sen promoted his Three Principles of the People - nationalism, socialism and democracy.

10. Sun Yat-sen established a political part called the Kuomindang, which he made for his own use.

11. Sun Yat-sen's successor, Chiang Kai-shek, set the Kuomindang as the leading party of China.

12. By 1949, Mao Zedong, a communist, led millions of peasants in northern China, and came down south Kuomindang strongholds hard.

13. The Kuomindang, after running from Mao Zedong to Taiwan, established the Republic of China.

14. In the China mainland, the impact of Republic of China was huge. It became the People's Republic of China, the largest communist nation in the world under the command of Mao Zedong.

15. In Mao Zedong's plan called his Great Leap Forward, the government set up large communes to send the revolution through the roof. But the government didn't have enough agricultural surplus to foster these communities. They lied about their food production, which lead to a great time of starvation in which nearly 30 million Chinese died.

16. In 1964, China tested its first atomic bomb.

17. In 1966, Mao Zedong thought that the Chinese people weren't as "communist" as they were a little while back, and so enacted the Cultural Revolution. The idea of the revolution was to discourage any thought of freedom among higher classes.

18. China realized that it needed to open itself to the western world. In 1976 when Mao Zedong died, his successor, Deng Xiaoping focused on changing the educational policy and restructuring the economical polices.

19. After the defeat of Japan in WWII, Korea was held in two separate pieces, South Korea held by the U.S. and North Korea held by the Soviet Union.

20. In 2006, North Korea declared its nuclear bomb testing a success.

21. the Platt Amendment allowed the presence of the U.S. in Cuba, as well as U.S. military bases.

22. From 1939 to 1959 the U.S. supported the Batista Dictatorship in Cuba, which continued the policies that benefited the wealthy land-owners.

23. In 1956, the peasants in Cuba started a revolt under the leadership of Fidel Castro. Because of the revolutionaries were to deadly, the U.S. withdrew itself from Batista. The revolutionaries made great advances, and by 1959, Batista had fled, making the Cuban Revolution a great success against a dictator.

24. After the success of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, the leader of the revolutionaries, took control of the government and became a dictator.

25. In 1962, the Soviets and the Cubans tried to build a missile on Cuba. Worried about this, President Kennedy ordered a blockade around the island, so that no more missile parts could be shipped to Cuba from Russia. The Russians agreed to stop the missile project as long as the U.S. didn't invade Cuba.

26. When the Soviet Union died in the early 1991, Cuba lost its main stream of money. Which was a real loss, since the Soviet Union sent billions to Cuba.

27. In 1980, a group of workers began the Solidarity movement under Lech Walesa. Thousands of workers joined the strike against communism.

28. The government eventually arrested Lech Walesa and other Solidarity leaders.

29. In 1990, the communist party fell apart in Poland, and Lech Walesa was elected President.

30. Mikhail Gorbachev came to rule the Soviet Union in 1985. He instituted policies of openness and urged restructuring of the Soviet economy.

31. Poland and other USSR areas declared their independence of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union died out in 1991, and Russia became its own country again.

Notes: D. Independence Movements and Developments in Asia and Africa

1. In Amritsar, 319 Indians were slaughtered by British General Dyer during a protest in a city park.

2. When other Indians heard of the Amritsar massacre, millions of them joined the cause.

3. Mohandas Gandhi became the most important speaker and organized enormous protests.
His idea of passive resistance was that you should simply not follow what you were told.

4. In the 1950s, Gamal Nasser, an Egyptian general overthrew the king and established a republic.

5. Gamal Nasser nationalized industries, like the Suez Canal.

6. In 1962, Rwanda, the Hutu revolted against the Tutsu leaders, thousands died. The two groups continued to fight until 1972, when a military group led by Juvenal Habyarimana unseated the government and set up a one-party republic in 1981.

7. There was peace in Rwanda until 1994, when the general of the military group died in a plane crash. A civil war broke out, leaving 800,000 Tutsu dead, and by the next year, over 2 million Hutu fled to the neighboring Zaire.

8. In 1910, the Union of South Africa was formed by two British colonies and two Boer republics.

9. A system of apartheid was established in South Africa in 1948 as a way of dividing blacks and whites.

10. In the 1950s, Nelson Mandela became leader of the African National Congress.

11. During the time of WWI, Zionists living in Britain, convinced Arthur Balfour, Britain's foreign secretary, that a Jewish home in Palestine was desirable and just.

12. In 1917, Arthur Balfour issued what was known as the Balfour Declaration, which stated the right for a home in Palestine for the Jews.

13. In 1948, the United Nations created two Palestines, one for Jews, and one for Muslims.

14. David Ben-Gurion, the first prime minister of Israel, announced the official creation of a Jewish homeland. Afterwords, Muslims attacked Israel, but the Israelis quickly counterattacked and took most of Palestine.

15. In 1967, the Six Day War resulted in victory for the Israelis, who took the West Bank of the Jordan, the Sinai Peninsula, the Golan Heights from Syria, and the Gaza Strip from Egypt.

16. In 1977, the Israeli Prime Minister Begin and the Egyptian President Sadat signed the Camp David Accords, an agreement which led to Israel pulling out of the Sinai and Egypt.

17. The Palestine Liberation Organization is a group that is dedicated to taking back land for the Muslims to have a state.

18. Ariel Sharon, the newly elected Israeli Prime Minister, has ordered the construction of a wall to be built between the Palestinian West Bank and Israel to protect from suicide bombers.

19. Reza Shah Pahlavi rose to power in 1925 by ousting the ruling shah, who allowed the Persians to fall under European influence.

20. Reza Shah Pahlavi decided that the best way to beat the west, was to westernize. They modernized slowly at first, but they picked up momentum.

21. In 1979, the shah was ousted during the Iranian Revolution. Immediately afterwords the modernization moved backwards. The Qu'ran became the code of law, and women had to wear traditional Islamic clothing.

22. Iran was invaded by Iraq in 1980, after some border disputes earlier between the two countries.

23. In 2005, Tehran's mayor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected president of Iran.

24. With all the oil in the Middle East, an organization called the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries gained billions of dollars. Nations used the extra money to modernize.

Notes: E. Globalization and the World Since 1980

1. Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990 in an attempt to gain more of the worlds oil reserves.

2. Nur Muhammad Taraki was a Marxist military leader in Afghanistan who had engineered a military coup against the previous government.

3. Osama bin Laden was the leader of an international terrorist network known as Al Queda, which hates America.

4. On September 11, 2001, Al Queda took control of four passenger jets and flew two of them into the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon, and one unintentionally into a field in Pennsylvania. When the World Trade Center fell to the ground, it killed nearly 3000 civilians. The U.S. immediately launched a war on terrorism.

5. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade became the World Trade Organization in 1994.

6. Group of Six, created in 1975 as a forum for the worlds major industrialized democracies. The original members include the U.S., Great Britain, West Germany, Italy, Japan, and Poland. Since it was created Canada and Russia have joined, and it is now known as Group of Eight.

Chapter Nine

2008-08-30T14:49:00.000-07:00

Title: Not so Old Stuff:Sometime Around 1750 to About 1914

Chapter Summary: Industry and Imperialism: A. The Industrial Revolution. B. European Imperialism in India. C. European Imperialism in China. D. Japanese Imperialism. E. European Imperialism in Africa.

Notes: A. The Industrial Revolution

1. The Industrial Revolution began in Britain, but it wasn't the only one that did industrialize.

2. In the eighteenth century, there was an Agricultural surplus, allowing others to leave their farms, and go to the city, where there were more jobs.

3. The Agricultural surplus came for many reasons, one being the usage of potatoes, corn and other foods from America. Farmers also began crop rotation, allowing them to farm their land each season without stripping the land of its nutrients.

4. New machines and tools allowed farmers to greatly increase the amount that they could farm.

5. The domestic system was that men would drop off wool or cotton at homes where women would make cloth, which would be picked by the men and then sold.

6. In 1733, John Kay invented the flying shuttle, speeding up the weaving process.

7. In 1764, John Hargreaves invented the spinning jenny, which could spinning vast amounts of thread.

8. In 1793, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, allowing lots of cotton to be processed in the Americas and sent to Europe.

9. In the early 1700s, Thomas Newcomer built an inefficient steam engine, but in 1769, James Watt greatly improved it. The steam engine was revolutionary, because steam could now be used for transportation.

10. In 1807, Robert Fulton built the first steamship.

11. In the 1820's George Stephenson built the first steam-powered locomotive.

12. The Telegraph was invented in 1837 by Samuel Morse.

13. In 1876, the Telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell.

14. Thomas Edison invented the Light bulb in 1879.

15. The Internal Combustion Engine was invented by Gottlieb Daimler in 1885.

16. In the 1890's, the radio was invented by Marconi Guglielmo.

17. The Airplane was invented by Orville and Wilbur Wright in 1903.

18. With Eli Whitney's system of interchangeable parts, machines and their parts were made uniformly so that they could be replaced whenever something broke.

19. Henry Ford's use of the assembly line meant that each factory worker added only one part to a product.

20. Factories had thousands of workers, the process was efficient and cheap, the workers were underpaid, overworked, and 16 hour work days were normal.

21. Industrialization created new social classes. A middle class was formed, made of skilled professionals.

22. In 1776, Adam Smith wrote The Wealth of Nations, which is about how fairness and economic prosperity are best gotten through private ownership.

23. Adam Smith argued that a free market system would better suit the needs of the nation.

24. In 1848, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote, in The Communist Manifesto, that the working class would revolt and take control of the means of production.
The government, the church, the courts, and the police were against the workers. Once the fighting was over, Marx predicted that the government, the church and the rest, would not be needed. The impact of Marxism served as the foundation for socialism and communism.

25. In the Factory Act of 1883, the British Parliament limited work hours per day, restricted children from being in factories, and made the factory owners make their factories a better work environment.

26. In 1807 the slave trade was abolished, however, slave owners kept the slaves they already had. In 1833, the British outlawed slavery, and thirty years later it was outlawed in the United States.

27. Soon, Europe colonized on every other continent in the world in order to gain resources for their factories.

28. Social Darwinists applied Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection to sociology. They claimed the right that dominant races or classes rose to the top through the process of "survival of the fittest."

Notes: B. European Imperialism in India

1. In the 1750s, the rivalry between the French and English reached fever pitch. During the Seven Years' War, the two countries fought each other in North America, Europe and India. Eventually the British East India Company, under Robert Clive, threw the French out. The troops that helped defeat the French were corporate.

2. Sepoys were Indians that worked for the British as soldiers.

3. In 1857 the Sepoys attempted a revolt after they found out that their guns had been greased with pork and beef fat, thus violating both Hindu and Muslim dietary law. They failed miserably against the English.

4.In 1858, the British Parliament took control of India away from the East India
company, and made all of India a crown colony. The last Mughal ruler, Bahadur Shah II, was sent into exile, ending the Mughal Empire, and by 1877, Queen Victoria was recognized as Empress of India.

5. In 1885, a group of well learned Indians formed the Indian National Congress to begin a move towards independence.

Notes: C. European Imperialism in China

1. In 1773, the British introduced opium to the Chines. By 1838, the drug habit among the Chinese had grown so widespread and destructive that the Manchu emperor released an imperial edict, forbidding the use of opium. Consistent with this edict, the Chinese seized the British opium in Canton in 1839.

2. From 1839 to 1842, the British fought the Chinese for control of the opium trade, this was known as the first Opium War. The British won.

3. After the Opium War, the Chinese were forced to sign the Treaty of Nanjing, allowing the British to expand into China as well as control over the opium trade.

4. In 1843, the British claimed Hong Kong as its crown possession, and in 1844, the Chinese had to let Christian missionaries back into the country.

5. The Chinese knew that they had a weak government, and White Lotus Rebellions were lead by Buddhists who were frustrated over taxes and government. It continued through the middle of the 1800s with the Taiping Rebellion.

6. The Taipings recruited an army of nearly one million, and nearly succeeded in bringing down the Manchu government, they failed, but sent a strong message. China was falling, from within and foreign aggression.

7. In the 1860s, the Manchu Dynasty tried to build itself back up in what was known as the Self-Strengthening Movement. It didn't get very far, and in 1876, Korea realized that China was weak and broke away, declaring its independence.

8. In 1883, China lost Vietnam to the French in the Sino-French War.

9. In 1895, the Chinese were defeated by the Japanese in the Sino-Japanese War. China was forced to sign the Treaty of Shimonoseki, which granted the same trading rights as the Europeans, and gave them control of Taiwan.

10. An anti-Manchu, anti-European and anti-Christian organization in China known as the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fist, came to be known as Boxers. Their goal was to drive the Europeans and Japanese out of China.

11. Eventually the Boxers failed, and because of the uprising China was forced to sign the Boxer Protocol, which made it so that the Chinese not only had to pay the Europeans and the Japanese, but apologize for it as well.

12. In 1901, foot binding was abolished, in 1905, the 2,000 year old Chinese Examination System was eliminated. In 1911, the government was toppled and imperial rule ended. Under the leadership of Sun Yat-sen a republic was established in China.

Notes: D. Japanese Imperialism

1. In 1853, Commodore Mathew Perry arrived in Japan on a steamboat, something that the Japanese had never seen. This shocked them, and made them realize that because of their isolation had left them behind, economically and militarily.

2. The Japanese went through an extremely fast Industrial Revolution by themselves, and soon caught up with everyone else.

Notes: E. European Imperialism in Africa

1. Between 1807 and 1820, most European nations had abolished the slave trade, although slavery itself wasn't abolished until a few decades later.

2. Before gold and diamonds were found in South Africa, it was valuable to the Europeans only for shipping.

3. The Dutch arrived in South Africa first and settled Cape Town as a stopping point for ships on the way from Europe to India.

4. In 1795, the British took over Cape Town, and South African Dutch, known as Boers,
trekked northeast into the interior of South America, where they settled in a region known as Transvaal, where they found diamonds, which the British wanted.

5. After the Boer War, which lasted from 1899 to 1902, the British defeated the Boers, and the British expanded further into South Africa.

6. In 1912, educated South Africans organized the African National Congress in an effort to oppose European colonialism and specific South African polices.

7. The Ottomans rules Egypt from 1517 to 1882, but during the nineteenth century, their rule was extremely weak.

8. When the French, lead by Napoleon Bonaparte, attacked Egypt, Muhammed Ali defeated the French and the Ottomans, and took control of Egypt in 1805. Over the next 30 years he industrialized Egypt.

9. The Suez Canal, completed in 1869, connected the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean.

10. In 1884, Otto von Bismarck hosted the major European powers at a conference in Berlin intended to resolve some of the differences over various European claims to lands in the African Congo.

11. Only Ethiopia and Liberia remained independent from Europe.

Political Developments in the Americas and Europe
Notes: A. Two Revolutions: American and French

1. The English and French felt threatened by each other in America, as they had in Europe, and so the French enlisted the Algonquin and the Iroquois to help them fight the English, but in 1763, the English won in the war known as the French and Indian
War. The French and Indian War was known as the Seven Years' War in Europe.

2. The English colonists were thrilled with the results of the Seven Years' War, but England was upset with the cost, and felt that the colonists hadn't pulled their weight. The colonists resented this, arguing that without their efforts, there wouldn't be any colonies anyway.

3. Britain's George Grenville set up laws in the Americas on behalf of the Brits. These laws included the Revenue Act of 1764, the Stamp Act of 1765, and the Tea Act of 1773. These laws were intended to raise more funds for the British Crown.

4. After the colonists dumped tea in Boston Harbor in protestation of the Tea Act, relation between the crown and the colonists deteriorated quickly.

5. In 1775, British troops battled with rebellious colonists in Lexington and Concord, beginning the War of Independence.

6. England was such a strong force that even those who desperately wanted their independence felt that the British were to hard to beat. Thomas Paine urged colonists to support the movement.

7. In 1777, the French helped support the colonists by sending ships, soldiers, weapons, and money to assist in defeating the English.

8. In 1781, French and American ships cornered the center of the British army, which was under the command of General Cornwallis, who surrendered, ending the war.

The French Revolution

1. The French society was divided into three estates, the first being the clergy, the second being the nobles, and the third was everyone else.

2. In 1789, the third estate did something drastic, they declared themselves the National Assembly. The King got nervous and forced the other two estates to join them in an effort to write a new constitution.

3. The National Assembly adopted The Declaration of the Rights of Man, a document recognizing natural rights and based on the ideas of the Enlightenment, the American Declaration of Independence, and the writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

4. In 1789, France became the first modern nation-state.

5. In 1791, the National Assembly applied a new constitution, which was similar to the U.S. constitution, except that instead of a president, the king held on to the executive power.

6. In 1793, the King was beheaded for treason.

7. The constitution in France created the Committee of Public Safety, an all powerful enforcer, that would murder anyone suspected of anti-revolutionary tendencies.

8. In 1795, the French wrote a new constitution, and established a new 5-man government called the Directory.

9. Napoleon Bonaparte was a general by age 24. In 1799, he overthrew the Directory.

10. Napoleon Bonaparte's Napoleonic Codes in 1804 recognized the equality of each citizen and institutionalized some of the Enlightenment ideas.

11. In 1810, Napoleon Bonaparte's empire was at its peak, but in 1812, he attacked Russia and was baited into Moscow, where they set the city aflame. Bonaparte was forced to run back to France, but the Russians picked his men off on the way, and he was forced into exile.

12. The leaders of countries that had overthrown Napoleon met in Vienna to decide how to restore order and their power in Europe. They disagreed a lot, preventing much progress, and so Napoleon returned from his exile and tried to restore himself.

13. At Waterloo 1813, Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated and sent into permanent exile on the island of St. Helena, where he later died.

Notes: B. Lots of Independence Movements: Latin America

1. In 1801, as Napoleon Bonaparte was gaining momentum, a former slave, Pierre Toussaint L'Ouverture, lead a violent and lengthy, successful slave revolt on the island of Haiti.

2. Jacques Dessalines proclaimed Haiti a free republic in 1804, and named himself governor-general for life.

3. In 1807, John VI, the Portuguese king, fled to Brazil and set up his royal court in exile. By 1821, Bonaparte had been defeated and it was safe for John to return home, but he left his son, Pedro, behind, who was 23 years old at the time. In 1831, Pedroa abdicated his power to his son, Pedro II, who abolished slavery.

4. In 1810, Mexico, a priest named Miguel Hidalgo led a revolt against the Spanish rule. However the revolt failed, and Hidalgo was executed at Calderon Bridge.

5. Jose Morelos led revolutionaries to further success against the loyalists. However after he made clear his intentions to re-distribute the land to the poor, the land-owning class executed him in 1815.

Notes: C. Two Unifications: Italy and Germany

1. In 1849, the king of Sardinia, Victor Emmanuel II, named Count Camillo Cavour his prime minister, and nationalism in Italy took off.

2. Giuseppe Garibaldi, an Italian nationalist, raised a volunteer army and drove the Spanish from the Two Sicilies.

3. In 1861, the new king of Prussia, William I, appointed Otto von Bismarck prime minister with the aim of build the military and consolidating the region under its authority.

4. Otto von Bismarck had to defeat Austria, which he did in seven weeks, in order to gain consolidation.

5. In 1871, William I was crowned emperor.

6. After unification, Germany quickly industrialized and became a strong economical and political power.

7. In 1888, Germany crowned a new emperor, William II, who wanted to run the country by himself. In 1890, William forced Otto von Bismarck to resign as prime minister, and re-established authority as emperor.

Notes: D. Other Political Developments

1. In the 1860's, Alexander II of Russia issued the Emancipation Edict, which essentially abolished serfdom.

2. In 1881, Alexander II was assassinated by a political group known as The Peoples Will.

3. The Ottoman Empire began its decline in the 16th century and never gained a second wind. They continually fought the Russians for control over the Balkans, The Black Sea and the surrounding areas, but the Russians were mostly victorious.

4. U.S. President Monroe declared in his 1823 State of Union Address that the western hemisphere was off-limits to European aggression.

Chapter Eight

2008-08-24T12:51:00.000-07:00

Chapter Eight, Old Stuff: Approximately 1450 to around 1750 C.E.
Summary: A. European Rivals. B. Russia out of isolation. C. Islamic Gunpowder Empires: Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal. D. African States. E. Isolated Asia: Ming and Manchu China, and Tokugawa Japan.

Notes: A. Revolutions in European thought and Expression

1. Renaissance literally means "rebirth" and this was extremely apparent with the arts. Some of the greatest us of all time came out of the Renaissance, including Michelangelo and Brunelleschi.
2. Artists and sculptors such as Leonardo da Vinci and Donatello depicted their characters as human-like as possible, rather then the stiff medieval style of art.
3. The technique of linear perspective was developed by Tommaso Masaccio and Fillipo Brunelleschi. Linear perspective is the technique in which you draw farther away objects smaller, to give the painting a three-dimensional quality.
4. Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, making books easier to produce, making them cheaper and making it so that poor people were able to learn to read.
5. In 1517, Machiavelli published The Prince, a how-to book for monarchs who wanted to maintain their power.
6. In the early 1500s, Erasmus, one of the most well-known learned men of the time, was an counseled kings and popes.
7. Sir Thomas More, of England wrote Utopia, which describes an ideal society, in which everyone shared the wealth, and everyones needs were met.
8. The Renaissance also produced William Shakespear, arguably the most famous European writer of the time. Among his works are Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar and Venus and Adonis.

The Protestant Reformation:

1. When the church needed money to finance its immense building projects plus pay for Renaissance artists it had in its employ, it began to sell indulgences. An indulgence was a piece of paper that the church sold, that guaranteed life in Heaven. Not only did selling indulgences give the church money, it helped them keep control over the masses.
2. In 1517, a German monk named martin Luther nailed a list of 95 these on a church door. His list outlined his frustrations with the current church practices, including the selling of indulgences, which he said amounted to selling salvation for profit.
3. Martin Luther translated the Latin Bible into German, because Germans couldn't read Latin.
4. Pope Leo X was outraged and ordered Luther to recant his theses, at the assembly in Worms, 1521, Luther refused to recant his theses. The pope ordered Luther's arrest, but a nobleman from Luther's hometown defended him.
5. Luther's followers referred to themselves as Lutherans, and began to separate themselves from the Catholic Church.
6. John Calvin from France led a powerful Protestant group by preaching ideology of predestination. Calvinist doctrine stated that God had predetermined the destiny for all people, most of whom God had already damned.
7. King Henry VIII did not have a son as an heir to his throne, and tried to abandon his wife, Catherine of Aragon because of it. When the pope denied annulment of the marriage, Henry VIII renounced Rome and declared himself religious leader of England.
8. During the counter-reformation of the 1500s, the Catholic Church itself reformed, and won back some people that it had lost the Protestant denominations.
9. Ignatius Loyola founded the society of Jesuits, which was influential in restoring faith in the teachings of Jesus as interpreted by the Catholic Church.
10. The Council of Trent presided over the counter-period from 1545 to 1563.

The Scientific Revolution:

1. Nicolaus Copernicus developed a mathematical theory that the sun was the center of the universe, and that the Earth, along with the other celestial bodies, revolved around it.
2. In 1632, Galileo wrote his Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief Systems, he wrote it in Latin to reach a wide audience in hope of defeating defenders of Ptolemy. The Church summoned Galileo before the Inquisition in Rome, and he was forced to recant his book. It was placed on The Index, a list of heretical works, it stayed there until 1822.
3. The scientific method was that you should experiment with things, rather then just reason about them.
4. Tycho Brahe lived from 1546 to 1601. He built an observatory and recorded his observations.
5. Francis Bacon lived from 1561 to 1626. He published works on inductive logic.
6. Johannes Keplar lived from 1571 to 1630. He developed laws of planetary motion based on observation and mathematics.
7. Sir Isaac newton wrote The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy in 1697. He invented calculus to help prove the theories of Copernicus, Galileo, Bacon and others. He also developed the law of gravity.
8. The scientific revolution contributed to a belief system known as deism. Deists are those that believe a god exists, but think that he plays a passive role.

The Enlightenment:

1. During the high middle ages and through the Renaissance and counter-reformation, the Church allied itself with strong monarchs. These monarchs believed that they had been chosen by God to rule, and that the people had a moral and religious obligation to obey them. This concept was known as divine right.
2. James I ruled England from 1603 to 1625.
3. Thomas Hobbes lived from 1588 to 1679. He wrote Leviathan, and believed that people by nature were greedy and prone to violent warfare.
4. John Locke lived from 1632 to 1704. He wrote Two Treatises on Government, and believed that human kind, for the most part was good. He also believed that all men were born equal to each other.
5. Jean-Jacques Rousseau lived from 1712 to 1778. He argued that all men were equal and that society should be organized according the the general will.

Notes: B. European Exploration and Expansion

1. In 1488, Portugal financed a voyage by Bartholomew Dias who rounded the tip of Africa (known as the Cape of Good Hope).
2. In 1497, Vasco de Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope, explored east African kingdoms and then made his way to India, where he established trade relations.
3. In 1494 Portugal and Spain were already fighting over the newly found Americas.
4. The Spanish and the Portuguese drew up the Treaty of Tordesillas, which established a line of demarcation on a longitudinal line that runs through the Atlantic Ocean.
5. Amerigo Vespucci explored South America on several trip around 1500; realized that the continent was huge and not part of Asia. America was named after him.
6. Ponce de Leon in 1513 explored Florida for Spain in search of the fountain of youth.
7. Vaso de Balboa in 1513 explored Central America for Spain and saw the Pacific Ocean.
8. Ferdinand Magellan in 1519 sailed around the tip of South America to the Pacific Ocean for Portugal. He made it to the Philippines before he died, his crew continued and became to first to circumnavigate the globe.
9. In 1524, Giovanni da Verrazano explored the North American coast for France.
10. In 1578, Sir Francis Drake became the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe.
11. In 1597, John Cabot explored the coast of North America for England.
12. Henry Hudson in 1609, sailed for the Dutch looking for a northwest passage to Asia, he also explored the Hudson River and made claims to the area for the Dutch.
13. In 1519, Hernan Cortes landed on the coast of Mexico with six hundred men, and found himself at the center of the Aztec Empire. On horseback, the Aztec leader, Montezuma thought that Cortes was a god, and sent an offering of gold to him. Unfortunately, when the Spanish saw the gold, it only made them want more, and they attacked Tenochtitlan.
14. The Spanish brought with them diseases, and the Aztecs suffered from them greatly, over 60 years, 18 million Aztecs were killed, from 1520 to 1580.
15. In 1531, Francisco Pizarro set out in search of the Incas with a tiny force of 200 men. Disease and superior weapons and a little help from Incan enemies quickly destroyed the Incan resistance. By 1535, Pizarro was in control of the region.
16. Once Spain had set foot on the new world, thousands of Spaniards arrived to build a new colonial empire.
17. The colonial society was a hierchical organization. At the top were the peninsulares, the Spanish officals sent to govern the colonies. Below them, the creoles, were people born in the colonies to Spanish parents. Below them were the mestizos, those with European and native American ancestry, below them were the mulattos, those with European and African ancestry. Then on the bottom there were native Americans, who had little or no freedom.
18. To run the empire, the viceroys, who were appointed governors of each of the five regions of New Spain, established the Encomienda System, which was like a feudal system.
19. When the Portuguese and Spanish established empires on the new world, new foods, animals, plants and lots of other things were transfered between Europe and the Americas. This was known as the Columbian Exchange.
20. The two key products of the Columbian Exchange were sugar and silver.
21. The Muscovy Company of England monopolized trade routes to Russia.

Notes: A. The European Rivals

1. In 1519, Charles V was elected Holy Roman Emperor by German princes, which meant that he held lands in part of France, the Netherlands, Austria, and Germany in addition to Spain.
2. King Henry VIII of England, who ruled from 1509 to 1547, nullified the popes rule in England, so that he could divorce his wife, Anne Boleyn, to try and get a male heir. He didn't get one, instead he got a female heir, whose name was Elizabeth.
3. The Elizabethan Age from 1558 to 1603, boasted commercial expansion and exploration and colonization in the New World.
4. Charles I rose to power in 1625, three years later he was desperate for money from Parliament. He agreed to sign the Petition of Right, a document limiting taxes and forbidding unlawful imprisonment. But Charles ignored the Petition after he got he got the money he needed. He claimed divine right and ruled without calling another meeting at Parliament.
5. The Roundheads, under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell, attacked Charles I and defeated him. Charles was tried and executed, and Cromwell rose to power. Cromwell rules with violence and intolerance against catholics and the Irish.
6. Charles II, the exiled son of Charles I, was invited by Parliament to take the throne of England. This is called the Stuart Restoration.
7. When Charles II died his brother, James II took over.
8. In 1689, James II daughter and son in law signed the English Bill of Rights.

France

1. After the Hundred Years' War, in which the French drove the English from France, the French began to unify and centralize authority in a strong monarchy.
2. In 1598, Henry IV issued the Edict of Nantes, which created an environment of toleration.
3. Henry IV was the first Bourbon king. The Bourbons ruled France until 1792.
4. Cardinal Richelieu, a Catholic, was the chief advisor to the Bourbons. His primary role was to strengthen the French crown.
5. Louis XIV was four years old when we inherited the French crown. His mother and Cardinal Mazarin ruled in his name until he reached adulthood.
6. Louis XIV appointed Jean Babtiste Colbert manage the royal funds.
7. After the War of Spanish Succession from 1701 to 1714, France' military power was weakening.

German Areas

1. The Holy Roman Empire wasn't really Rome, but rather in present day Austria and Germany, and surrounding regions.
2. The Holy Roman Empire lost parts of Hungary to the Ottoman Turks in the early 1500s.
3. The thirty years' war from 1618 to 1648 devastated the region and significantly weakened the Holy Roman emperors.
4. By the eighteenth century, the northern German city-states were gaining momentum and power.
5. In 1555, the Peace of Augsburg was intended to bring an end to the constant conflicts between Catholics and Protestants that engulfed the region during the Reformation and the counter-reformation.

Russia

1. After the Turks conquered Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire fell, the center of Orthodox Christianity moved northward to Moscow.
2. At around the same time of the fall of Constantinople, Russian leaders were overthrowing the Mongols. In 1480 Ivan III of Moscow refused to pay tribute to the Mongols and declared Russia free of Mongol rule.
3. Ivan III, and later his grandson, Ivan IV, established absolute rule in Russia, uniting it and expanding it ever eastward.
4. Ivan IV was such a strong leader and held such absolute power that he came to be know as Ivan the Terrible.
5. Ivan the Terrible took on the title of czar, and executed anyone whom he thought might be a threat to his power, including his own son.
6. After the death of Ivan IV in 1584, Russia's feudal lords battled over who should rule the empire. The madness subsided after Michael Romanov was elected czar by the feudal lords.
7. Peter the Great who ruled from 1682 to 1725, westernized Russia. He built Russia's first navy, and had all the upper class women wear western fashion clothes. Also all men had to shave their beards.
8. Under Catherine the Great, who ruled from 1762 to 1796, more enlightened policies of education and western culture were implemented.

Islamic Gunpowder Empires

1. After the Ottomans conquered Constantinople, they made it their capital city.
2. The Ottomans enslaved children of their Christian subjects and turned them into fighting warriors, known as Janissaries.
3. In 1526, Babur, a leader who claimed to be descended from Genghis Khan, invaded northern India and quickly defeated the Delhi Sultanate and established the Mughal Empire.
4. Babur's grandson, Akbar, who ruled from 1556 to 1605, was able to unify much of India by governing under a policy of religious toleration.
5. Under Shah Jahan, Akbar's grandson, the Taj Mahal was built.
6. After Akbar, two developments forever changed India. First was that the religious toleration ended. Second was the arrival of the Europeans.

Africa

1. On the west coast of Africa, the centralized kingdom of Kongo was bolstered by its trade with Portuguese merchants as early as 1480.
2. South of Kongo, the Portuguese established a small trading post in Angola as early as 1575, with the sole purpose of expanding their trade with slaves from the interior.
3. When the Portuguese attempted to further exert their authority and control, Queen Nzinga strongly resisted. For 40 years the Queen led her men into battle. Eventually Nzinga fell to the Portuguese, because they had superior weapons.

Asia

1. In the early fifteenth century, the Chinese made huge fleets of ships, and Zeng He, a Chinese navigator, led fleets throughout southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean, all the way to east Africa, a century before the Europeans did the same.
2. In 1644 the Ming emperor invited a group of Qing warriors from Manchuria to help stop a peasant uprising. But instead the Qing ousted the emperor. The Ming Dynasty ended and the Manchu Dynasty began.
3. Manchu Emperors were well steeped in Chinese traditions. Kangxi, who rules from 1662 to 1722 was a Confucian, as was his successor, Qianlong.
4. Kangxi conquered Taiwan, and extended the empire into Mongolia, central Asia, and Tibet. Qianlong added Vietnam, Burma and Nepal.

Japan

1. In 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu established the Tokugawa Shogunate, a strict and rigid government that ruled Japan until 1868.
2. The Tokugawa period is also known as the Edo period. Because during this time they moved their capital to Edo, which is modern-day Tokyo.
3. In 1635, a National Seclusion Policy prohibited Japanese people from traveling abroad, and from most people from coming to Japan.
4. Japanese art forms also flourished, Kabuki theatre and haiku poetry were both very popular.

Changes and Continuities in the Role of Women

1. A number of women became powerful, this includes Elizabeth I, of England, Isabella of Spain, and Nur Jahan from India. Elizabeth didn't get to her high rank because of the death of a husband.

Chapter Seven

2008-08-20T09:51:00.000-07:00

Chapter Seven, Main Idea: A review of history from 600 C.E. to 1450 C.E.
Summary: A. The Rise of Islam, B. Developments in Europe and the Byzantine Empire, C. Developments in China, Japan and India, D. The Rise and Fall of the Mongols, E. Developments in Africa, F. Developments in the Americas.

Notes: A. The Rise of Islam.

1. In the seventh century a monotheistic religion called Islam started in the Middle East.
2. The followers of Islam are called Muslims, they believe that Allah sent Mohammad to preach Islam to the faithful.
3. The words Mohammad spoke were recorded in the Qu'ran.
4. Muslims believe that salvation is won through submission to the will of God, and that this could be accomplished by following the Five Pillars of Islam. These pillars include: confession of faith, prayer five times a day, charity to the needy, fasting during the month long Ramadan and pilgrimage to Mecca at least once during ones lifetime.
5. When Mohammad died in 632, Abu Bakr became caliph (the head of state, military commander, chief judge, and religious leader).
6. The four caliphs were Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali. Ali was assassinated and his son, Hasan as the successor. But under pressure, he gave up his position, making way for the Umayyad Dynasty.
7. During the Umayyad Dynasty, the capital was moved to Damascus, Syria, Arabic became the official government language; gold and silver coins became the standard monetary unit; and conquered subjects had to convert to Islam, or else had to pay a tax.
8. The Islamic Empire grew enormously under the Umayyads, stretching from northern Africa and into Spain, where they rules the southern Iberian peninsula.
9. In 732 the Islamic Empire began to move into Europe via Spain. Charles Martel, a Frankish leader, stopped the Muslim advance in its tracks when it tried to move into Paris, and so the Islamic Empire never flourished in Europe beyond Spain.
10. Problems with succession in the Islamic Empire began to emerge, and eventually the Muslims split into two groups, the Shia and the Sunni.
11. Because of the fighting between the Shia and the Sunni, the Umayyad Empire fell into decline and around 750, it was replaced by the Abbasid Dynasty in all areas except Spain.
12. The Abbasid Dynasty lasted from 750 to 1258. In the ninth century, arts and sciences flourished and the Abbasids built a magnificent capital in Baghdad.
13. The Abbasid Dynasty flourished around trade, and introduced the idea of credit to the empires trade mechanisms, to free them of the burden and dangers of carrying coins.
14. The Islamic Empire also made great advances in metal working, medical and mathematics.
15. Mohammad al-Razi published a massive medical encyclopedia, which was unlike anything compiled before.
16. In 751 an Abbasid army defeated a T'ang Chinese army for control over the Silk Road trading posts. The Chinese POWs were carrying paper money, which allowed the Muslims to find out how to make paper.
17. In Arabia, women did not have property or inheritance rights, they were more viewed as property by men. So if a baby girl was born, this sadly could end in infanticide, and if a man divorced a woman he would keep her dowry.
18. The Qu'ran, that was established between 651 and 652, allowed women to have some rights, and were considered equal in the eyes of Allah, and infanticide was strictly forbidden. However they were still considered lower then men.
19. The Islamic Empire was defeated by the Mongols. In 1258 during the crusades, the Mongols overran the Islamic Empire and destroyed Baghdad.
Notes: B. Developments in Europe and the Byzantine Empire.
1. The Middle Ages is the time after the fall of Rome and before the Renaissance.
2. When Rome split into East and West, it was focused on Constantinople, which is in the eastern side, and the eastern half of Rome became the Byzantine Empire. Whereas in the west, the empire collapsed.
3. The Byzantine Empire was a lot more centralized and organized then the western Roman empire.
4. The Byzantine Empire practiced a branch of Christianity known as Orthodox Christianity.
5. The Byzantine Empire used the Greek language.
6. Under Justinian, who reigned from 527 to 565, the former glory of the Roman Empire was somewhat restored in Constantinople. The region flourished in trade and arts.
7. The Justinian period is perhaps most remembered for two things: the Justinian Code, which was a code of laws and legal principles alive, and Hagia Sophia, an enormous cathedral that still stands today.
8. The Western Empire were Catholics, while the Eastern Byzantines were Orthodox Christians. In 1054 C.E., unable to reconcile their differences, the pope excommunicated the patriarch of Constantinople, who in turn did the same to the pope.
9. In the ninth century, the Slavic peoples of southeastern Europe and Russia were converted to Christianity by St. Cyril, an Orthodox Christian who used Greek alphabet to create a Slavic alphabet that is still used in parts of the region.
10. The Franks were a Germanic tribe that united under the leadership of King Clovis in the late fifth century. He built a rather large empire stretching from present day Germany through Belgium and into France.
11. King Clovis was converted to Roman Catholicism.
12. After King Clovis died his empire was divided amongst his sons, after which it declined in influence.
13. Charles Martel founded the Carolingian Dynasty and tried to reunite the region under his control.
14. Charles Martel's son, Pepin chose to have his succession certified by the pope.
15. Pepin's son, Charles also had his succession certified by the pope in 800, and became know as Charlemagne.
16. The empire Charlemagne built would come to be known as the Holy Roman Empire upon the coronation of Otto the Great in 962.
17. Because Charlemagne did not levy taxes, he failed to build a strong and united empire. After his death, and the death of his son Louis, the empire divided among his three grandsons according to the Treaty of Verdun in 843.
18. Beginning around 800, the Vikings used their highly maneuverable boats to raid well beyond their borders up and down the North Atlantic coast, with monasteries as their prime targets.
19. The Vikings were also merchants and fishermen, and developed some of the earliest commercial fisheries in northern Europe.
20. Because they were merchants and fishermen, and raiders they set up settlements in places like Newfoundland, Canada around 1000 C.E., inland Russia and northern France.
21. Feudalism, the name of European social, economic, and political system of the Middle Ages, had a strict hierarchy.
22. At the top of the feudal social structure was the king, who had the power over an entire territory known as his kingdom. Beneath the king were the nobles, who were given sections of the kingdom for loyalty the the king. The nobles in turn split up their small kingdoms into smaller sections, under the control of lesser lords called vassals. The vassals could then split up their small portion and give the pieces of land to subordinate vassals, and so on. Below vassals were peasants, who worked the land.
23. The estates that were granted to the vassals were called fiefs, and later became known as manors. The lord and peasants lived on the manor, the peasants worked on the manor in exchange for protection and a place to live.
24. There were often conflicts between the different lords. The etiquette on these fights and rules of engagement was highly refined and flowed from the code of chivalry, an honor system.
25. In the late thirteenth century, Thomas Aquinas, a famous christian realist Wrote Summa Theologica, a book about faith and reason.
26. In 1215, powerful English nobles forced King John to sign the Magna Carta.

27. As a teenage, Joan of Arc claimed to hear voices that told her to liberate France from the English. Somehow she managed to convince French authorities that she was divinely chosen to lead men into battle, and they supplied her with military backing. She managed to push the English out of Orleans, but was then captured by the French, tried by the English and burned at the stake as a witch by the French.

Notes: C. Developments in Asia

1. The T'ang Dynasty ruled China beginning in 618 under Emperor Xuanzong, the T'ang expanded Chinese territory into Manchuria, Mongolia, Tibet and Korea. By 907, the empire began to grow so large that local warlord gained more and more power and the T'ang Dynasty collapsed.

2. After a small period after the T'ang Dynasty fell, China was reunified by the Song Dynasty and Emperor Taizu. After a time of peace and prosperity, the Song eventually fell to the Jurchen, and then the Mongols, and in 1279, the Mongols set up the Yuan Dynasty in the Songs place.
3. From the 700's to the 1300's, the T'ang and the Song were accomplished in just about every category of human endeavor. Art, architecture, science, philosophy, porcelain-making, silk-weaving, construction of transport systems and more.
4. T'ang poetry is unique, it tells us about daily life, back during their dynasty. The Song built off of the T'ang poetry and made encyclopedias and histories.
5. The Song established their capital at Hangzhou, at the southern end of the Grand Canal.
6. By the 1100's the Song were an urban population with some of the largest cities in the world. Their wealth came from their strong navy, and participation in international trade.
7. Between 800 and 1100, the Song's iron production increased tenfold to about 120,000 tons per year.
8. From 600 to 1200 C.E., the Chinese population more then doubled, from about 45 million to 115 million.
9. During the T'ang Dynasty, a woman called Wu Zhao became the first and only Empress of China after the death of her husband, Emperor Gaozong.
10. Foot binding became a widespread practice and trend with noble girls. Women with large feet were considered ugly, so shortly after they were born a woman's feet would be bound so that they would stay small. This was very painful, and often ended with deforming and crippling.
11. Mahayana Buddhism emphasises meditation, and appreciation of beuty, and having a peaceful, quiet existence. Zen Buddhism was popular with the educated classes, who generally followed the tenets of Confucianism.
12. In the fifth century, the Yamato clan emerged as leaders in Japan.
13. The Japanese practiced Shinto, a religeon that means, "The way of the gods." Which encourages obediance and proper behaviour.
14. In 522 Buddhist missionaries from China went to Japan and brought the Chinese culture with them. Buddhism spread quickly, but didn't replace Shinto, most Japanese people practiced both.
15. Prince Shotoku in Japan, borrowed bureaucratic and legal forms that were modeled on the T'ang Dynasty in China. These reforms were enacted after his death as the Taika Reforms in 645 C.E.
16. The feudalism in Japan developed the same way as in Europe, but it developed independently
17. In 1192, Yoritomo Minamoto was given the title of Shogun. Below the Shogun were the daimyo, huge landowners. The daimyo were powerful samurai, like knights, and they divided their land up and gave it to lesser samurai. The samurai followed a strict code of conduct called the Code of Bushido, which was like the code of chivalry in Europe.
18. After defeating the disorganized Hindus, the Islamic invaders set up shop in Delhi, under their leader, the sultan. Hence this kingdom is referred to as Delhi Sultanate.
19. For over two hundred years starting in 1206, Islam spread through northern India. The sultans were highly offended by the Hindus polytheistic ways and tried to convert as many of them as possible.
20. In addition to invading Russia, China, Persia, and Central Asia, the Mongols found time on their way to invade India. Under the leadership of Timur Lang, the Mongols wiped out everything in sight and massacered thousands.
21. In the early 1200s, Genghis Kahn unified the Mongol tribes and set out on a path that would lead to the largest empire the world has ever seen. The Mongol Empire eventually spanned from the Pacific Ocean to Eastern Europe.
22. The Golden Horde conquered the region of modern day Russia, and Kublai Kahn ruled China.
23. In the 1200s and 1300s, many people simply gave in before the Mongols attacked their villages. Those that tried to resist were killed.
24. The Chinese finally kicked the Mongols out of China, and established the Ming Dynasty in 1368.
25. By 1450, the Mongol Empire was far into its decline.

Notes: E. Developments in Africa.

1. The Kush and the Axum civilizations developed in the south of Egypt, in the upper reaches of the Nile.

2. In the fourth century, the Axum were converted to Christianity. In the seventh century, many were converted to Islam. 3. After lots of trading with the Muslims, and eventually, Islam spread throughout most of East Africa.

4. The Ghana, Mali and Songhai civilizations were in Western Africa.

5. Islamic traders were very interested in trading with the western African kingdoms, because in Ghana and Mali, there was TONS of gold.
6. The constant trade with the Muslims and Ghana and Mali brought more then just Islamic items, it brought the religeon over.
7. The Ghana and Mali were forced to convert to Islam, or else they would be killed.
8. One of the greatest Mali rules, Mansa Musa, built a capital at Timbuktu, and expanded his kingdom far beyond the Ghana.
9. The largest empire in west Africa was formed in the mid 1500s, when Songhai rules, Sonni Ali conquered the entire region and established the Songhai Empire. The empire lasted till around 1600 C.E.
10. Oral literature was an important part of life in most African communities. History and stories were passed down, from one generation to the next through stories.
11. The Benin culture lived near present day Nigeria, and they mastered bronze sculpting. They made a clay mould around a wax sculpture, melted the wax, filled the mould with bronze, and then broke the clay mould.

Notes: F. Developments in the Americas.

1. The three great civilizations in Central and South America, were the Incas, Aztecs and Mayans.
2. The Mayan decline is still a source of debate. They began to abandon their cities at around 800 C.E., many reasons could have been the source of this. Which is why it is still a source of debate.
3. The Aztecs arrived in central Mexico in the mid 1200s, and built their capital at Tenochtitlan (modern-day Mexico city).
4. The Aztec women had a subordinate public role, but could inherit property.
5. The Aztec military was tied in with its religious beliefs, they would raid nearby villages and and take hostages which would be used as human sacrifices.
6. The Inca Empire was set up in the Andes Mountains, Peru. At its zenith, it is thought to have controlled more than 2000 miles of South American coastline.
7. The Incan women were expected to help in the fields, weave cloth and and care for the household.

1. In Europe, the upper classes of women were veiled.
2. In the Islamic Empire, women were veiled in public.

Chapter Six.

2008-08-16T13:37:00.000-07:00

Chapter Six, Ancient Stuff Around 8000 B.C.E to 600 C.E. Main Idea: A 9000 year review from around 8000 B.C.E to 600 C.E.
Chapter Summary: A -Nomads: Follow the Food. B -Settling Down: The Neolithic Revolution. C -The Big, Early Civilizations: Rivers Deliver. D -The Classical Civilizations: Mesoamerica. E - The Classical Civilizations: India and China. F - The Classical Civilizations: Mediterranean. G - The Late Classical Period: Empires Collapse and People on the Move.
Notes: A - Nomads: Follow the Food.
1. The sole focus in the life of the Nomads was to satisfy their basic needs: Shelter and Food.
2. Farming and tools had not yet been invented, so the Nomads had to hunt and gather.
3. Foraging Societies had to move from place to place as the climate and availability of animals and plants dictated.
4. Pastoral Societies often lived in mountanious regions, and tamed animals and used them to produce other food sources, like milk.
Notes: B - Settling Down: The Neolithic Revolution.
1. In the span of several thousand years, from 8000 B.C.E to 3000 B.C.E, groups of people moved from nomadic lifestyles to agricultural lifestyles, and town and city life. This transition is often called The Neolithic Revolution, or The Agricultural Revolution.
2. How it worked: When people learned to cultivate plants, they no longer had to move around for food, as long as there was good soil and a stable source of water. Because they also knew how to tame animals and make simple tools, they always had food, which meant that moving was no longer neccesary.
3. Staying in the same place made things change, because people in a community stayed so close together, it added to their sense of unity and helped them construct buildings and sustain cultural traditions.
4. After living together for long periods of time, a sense of property developed.
5. As farmers began farming more food for more people, there was a food surplus and the extra people no longer had to worry about their daily meals, which allowed them to focus on other things.
6. As agrilcutural societes became more complex, organized economies, governmental structures, and religous organizations began to emerge to keep things as predictable and orderly as possible, suddenly there was a society, and the begginings of a civilization.
7. Impact of Agriculture on the Environment: Farming villages dramatically changed the lay of the land, by diverting water, clearing land and creating farmland where there previously was none. There was also an impact on the animal kingdom, animals were used for food, clothing and for labor.
8. New Technology: Hard rocks like granite were cut into sharp tools, such as hoes ans picks. Pottery was used to make pots for cooking, baskets and nets were weaved for fishing and carrying things, and eventually the invention of the wheel, and obviuosly the cart. But perhaps the greatest discovery of the Neolithic Revolution was the knowledge of how to use metals. The discovery of combining tin and copper to create a stronger metal, bronze, helped not only with making tools, but also weapons. This developement was so significant that some people call the latter of the Neolithic Era, The Bronze Age.
Notes: C - The Big, Early Civilizations: The Rivers Deliver
1. Lots of the big, early civiliations were found near rivers, the river acted as a source of water, also the soil around the river was rich and good for farming. The river could also be home to animals, and edible plants may grow near the it to act as a food source. Rivers are also a vital means of transportation.
2. Mesopotamia: The rivers around Mesopotamia were the Tigris and the Euphrates, many civilizations such as Sumer, Babylon and Persia thrived along their banks.
3. By 3000 B.C.E, Ur, Erech and Kish were the major city-states of the first major civilization of sumer.
4. Sumerian civilization rose in the southern part of Mesopotamia. In addition to successful agriculture and river management, the Sumerian developed a form of writing known as cuneiform.
5. The Sumerians were polytheistic, meaning they worshipped more then one god. Unlike other cultures, each city-state had its own god, that only they worshipped, however there were a bunch of other gods that everyone, in all of the city-states, worshipped together.
6. Disaster often struck in Sumer, no temple could stop the relentless flow of invasions of Sumeria. And by 1700 B.C.E the civilization had been completely overthrown. However, its conquerors adopted many of the Sumerian traditions and technologies.
7. As the Sumerian city-states declined, the city of Akkad, which was north of Sumer, rose to dominate the region. The Akkadians major contribute was that they developed the first known code of laws, which they wrote in cuneiform, which they learned from the Sumerians. However the Akkadians were very soon taken over by the Babylonians.
8. King Hammurabi of Babylon expanded on the idea of a code of laws (which he found out about from the Akkadians) and developed an extensive code that dealt with every part of everyday life. This code of laws is called The Code of Hammurabi.
9. Babbylon quickly fell due to invasions of the Kassites and then the Hittites. By 1500 B.C.E., the Hittites dominated the region, especially because the Hittites used iron, which is much more strong than bronze. Becuase of their new weaponry, the Hittites soon became an incredible military force. News spread fast about this new weaponry, and over the span of a few hundred years, everyone was using Iron.
10. The Assyrians were the first to learn about Iron, and soon they made a disiplined but cruel military, however in a few hundred years, the Assyrians were defeated by the Medes and the Chaldeans.
11. The Chalden King, Nebuchadnezzar, rebuilt Babylon as a showplace of architecture and culture. He extended his empire throughout the Fertile Cresent, as the Assyrians had done before him. However the new babylon was doomed to fall, and a new civilization, the Persian Empire developed into a major world force.
12. The Persians established a giant empire, that by 500 B.C.E. it stretched from beyond the Nile River Valley in Egypt around the eastern Mediterranean through present day Turkey, and parts of Greece, and then easward through present day Afghanistan.
13. To improve transportation and communication throughout the vast empire, they built a series of roads, the longest road being the Great Royal Road, which was 1600 miles long, from the Persian Gulf to the Aegean Sea.
14. The Lydians came up with the concept of coined money, rather then the barter system
15. thehoenicians built powerful naval city-states all along the Mediterranean. They also came up with a 22 letter alphabet, that was much less complex then cuneiform.
16. The Hebrews are significant because of their religous beliefs called Judaism. The Hebrews were the first Jews. They were also Monotheistic, meaning they only believed in one god. By around 1000 B.C.E. they had established Israel in Palastine on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
17. Egypt developed along the Nile River.
18. Egypt had three major kingdoms, Old, Middle and New. It was during the New kingdom when Egypt reached its height. By 1400 B.C.E it stretched from the upper Nile valley, through the eastern Mediterranean regions of Palastine and parts of Asia Minor.
19. Egyptians communicated through a writing system known as hieroglyphic, that consisted of pictures that represented letters or words.
20. Like many other societies, the Egyptians were polytheistic. They also believed in the afterlife, and that you could bring earthly belongings there.
21. The first female ruler known in history was Queen Hatshepsut, who rules for 22 years during the New kingdom. She is credited with greatly expanding Egyptian trade expeditions. Although Egyptian women had more rights then those in Mesopotamia, they were still considered a lower rank than men.
22. Pyramids werent just for burying the dead, they were also the social structure of Egypt. On the top there was of course, the Pharoah is of course, at the top. Followed by the priests, below the priests are the nobles, followed by the skilled artisians and merchants. And at the bottom there are the peasants and slaves.
23. By 1100 B.C.E. and for the next 1000 years, the Egyptian empire fell into decline, and both the Assyrians and the Persians conquered parts of the once-great empire.
24. Like the Mesopotamian and Egyptians, the Indus Valley civilization was built along the banks of a river in, of course, the Indus Valley. They were like many other civilizations, Polytheistic.
25. The Indus Valley is cut off from the rest of the world except for the Khyber Pass through the Hindu Kush Mountains.
26. From approximately 2500 to 1500 B.C.E., the ancient Indus Valley civilization stretched for more then 900 miles along the Indus River.
27. The Indus Valley's two major cities, Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, were each home to perhaps over 100,000 people.
28. Sometime around 1900 B.C.E., the cities of the Indus Valley were abandoned, for reasons that remain a mystery today. All that is known, is that in 1500 B.C.E., the cities crumbled with the arrival of the Aryans.
29. The Aryans were nomadic tribes from the north of Caucasus Mountains. Using horses and advanced weaponry, they easily defeated the remaining population in the Indus Valley.
30. The Aryan conquest of the Indus Valley is the establishment of their religious beliefs on the Indian subcontinent, in particular the belief in reincarnation. The Aryans, yet another polytheistic people, recorded their beliefs and traditions in the Vedas and the Upanishads. Over centuries, these early Aryan beliefs evolved to form the basis of what later became Hinduism.
31. Shang China rose in the Hwang Ho River, also called The Yellow River Valley. It controlled the Yellow River Valley from about 1600 B.C.E. to 11o0 B.C.E.
32. Around 1100 B.C.E. the Shang were ousted by Wu Wang, who established the Zhou Dynasty, which lasted for almost 900 years, the longest any other dynasty has lasted.
33. Because China was to large for one man to handle, the King gave each noble power over small regions. As long as they stayed loyal to him, they would have his protection.
34. The Zhou Dynasty ended in 256 B.C.E.
35. In the Americas, two early civilizations existed: the Olmec, in what we know today as Mexico, from 1200 to 1400 B.C.E., and the Chavin in the Andes from about 900 to 300 B.C.E.
36. Both the Olmec and Chavin were urban societes, both were polytheistic, and neither of them lived next to a river.
37. From about 300 B.C.E. to 800 C.E., the Mayans dominated present-day southern Mexico and parts of Central America.
38. Tikal, the most important Mayan political center, may have been populated by more then 100,00 people.
39. In 321 B.C.E., the largest empire in India rose, this empire was called the Mauryan Empire, which was founded by Chandragupta Maurya.
40. Chandragupta's son, Ashoka Maurya, took the empire to its top. The Mauryan Empire grew extremely wealthy through trade, and it had a powerful military. Ashoka converted to Buddhism after claiming victory in a bloody battle. For the rest of his reign he preached a non-violent lifestyle.
41. Ashoka died in 232 B.C.E., after his death the Mauryan Empire fell into decline, mostly because of economical issues and attacks from the northeast.
42. Between 375 and 415 C.E., the Gupta Empire lead by Chandra Gupta came into existence. Although the Gupta Empire was smaller then the Mauryan, it is often called the Golden Age, because it experianced peace and advancements.
43. The Win Dynasty is China was extremely short, only 12 years long, from 221 to 209 B.C.E. The Qin Dynasty was the dynasty in which the Chinese connected various walls to create the Great Wall of China.
44. The Han Dynasty lasted from 200 B.C.E. to 200 C.E. Trade was doing very well on the Silk Road during this time, and Buddhism spread with the trade. Also during this time, the Chinese invented paper, made highly accurate sundials, and calenders, and explored the usage of metals.
45. From 2000 B.C.E. to 500 C.E., Greece and Rome dominated the Mediterranean.
46. Greece was located on the peninsula between the Aegean and Mediterranean seas.
47. The Greeks had city-states, and each one was known as a polis. The two main city-states were Sparta and Athens.
48. The Greeks were polytheistic.
49. Often the city-states fought amongst themselves, but during the Persian Wars, they all united to fight against their common enemy. Eventually they drove the Persians back, and entered an era of peace and prosperity, this era is often calle The Golden Age of Perciles.
50. Under the leadership of Perciles, Athens became a cultural powerhouse, Perciles established a democracy and Athens got rebuilt from the Persian Wars.
51. In 431 B.C.E., Athens and Sparta fought against eachother in the Peloponnesian War, with Sparta rising up as the victor. However, out of respect, Sparta didn't destroy the city of Athens.
52. Sparta failed to dominate Athens for long. After the Peloponessian War, the Macedonians, siezed the oppurtunity and invaded Athens, and dominated the entire region. However, out of respect for the Greek culture, they didn't destroy Athens.
53. Philip of Macedon's son, Alexander the Great, who was the tutor of Aristotle, widely expanded the Macedonians dominance. Alexander defeated the great Persian Empire and moved east towards the Indus River.
54. Alexander the Great died at age 33, and along with him, his empire began to fall. It fell because the Macedonians were so focused on Egypt and the east, that the Romans came from the west and overthrew the Macedonians.
55. The Romans were polytheistic, and many of their gods were of Greek origin.
56. The social structure of the Roman Empire consisted of patricians, who were at the top, plebians, who were all other free men, and in the middle. And then at the bottom there were slaves.
57. The Romans fought an extremely long war with Carthage, a city-state in north Africa. It lasted from 264 to 146 B.C.E. This was know as the Punic Wars.
58. After the death of Julius Caesar in 44 B.C.E., Octavius, Julius Caesars nephew, took control of the empire and assumed the name Augustus Caesar. Rome was now led by a single person, and there was no longer a republic.
59. Pax Romana means "Roman Peace".
60. A new religeon developed in the Mediterranean and Aegean regions, that religeon was Christianity.
61. In 284 C.E., Diocletian had become emperor and tried to deal with problem via dividing the empire and having co-emperors assist in maintaining the empire. It didn't work.
62. In 322 C.E., the emperor Constantine ordered the building of Constantinople.
63. Mostly everyone was polythesitic except for those who practiced Judaism and Christianity.
64. The Chinese practiced Legalism, Daoism and Confucianism and some practiced Buddhism.
65. Aryans practiced Hinduism. Some empires in India practiced Hinduism and Buddhism.
66. The Jews practiced Judaism. At first it was only the Jews that practiced Christianity, but it quickly spread.
67. A major development in warfare was the stirrup, that was developed among the nomadic societies of the Eurasian steppe and spread to Chinese as early as 300 B.C.E.
68. In India and China women had very little rights, in Rome and Greece women had some rights, but were still considered lower than men.

Chapter Five

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Chapter Five, Cracking the Free-Response Questions.

Main Idea: Shows how the Comparative and the Change Over Time Essays work, and the easiest way to do them.

Notes: Change Over Time Essay.
1. Directions: Has to have a relevant thesis and supports that thesis with appropriate historical evidence. Addresses all parts of the question. Uses historical context to show change over time and/or continuities.
2. It is not enough to talk about how it was, and then talk about how it is, or else there would be no Change Over Time.
3. To make sure you don't miss any important part of the question, circle or underline key phrases.

Notes: Comparative Essay.
1. The Comparative Essay often involves how two societies responded to a major theme or event.
2. Like in the Change Over Time Essay, circle or underline key phrases in the question that you've been given.
3. Like in the last two essays, a solid thesis can pave the road for the rest of the essay.
4. Write an Essay that: Has a relevant thesis and supports that thesis with appropriate historical evidence. Addresses all parts of the question. makes direct, relevant comparisons.

Chapters Three and Four

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Chapter Three, Cracking the Essay Questions. Main Idea: About the different types of Essays that will need to be written, and how to write a great thesis that will go along with them.

Notes.
1. The group of statements in your thesis must: State your claim clearly. Define terms, context, and chronology of the events under discussion, and describe why your claim is true.

2. A strong analytical thesis serves as a map that you should follow as you follow the remainder of the essay.

3. To make sure you include all necessary elements in the opening sentence of your thesis, circle each key phrase as you process the questions from the documents given to you at the beginning of the DBQ.

Chapter Four, Cracking the Document Based Question (DBQ). Main Idea: Information on the first of three essays you will be given.

Notes.
1. All the information for the Essay are in the documents.

2. Create a relevant thesis, and support it with the documents.

3. You must understand who wrote the documents you are given, and when it was written.

4. Group the documents in at least 2 different ways.

5. Write an essay that: States your claim clearly. Defines the terms, context and chronology of the events under discussion. Describe why your claim is true.

Chapters one and two.

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Chapter one, Welcome to the world of AP history. Main Idea: About the AP History Exam
Notes.

1. The structure of the test is divided into two sections, Multiple Choice questions and Free-Response essays.

2. The AP world history exam divides all history into 5 major periods, from Foundations to present.

3. The book informs you (vaguely) about how the test is scored.

4. The Exam will be taken in the beginning of May.

Chapter two, Cracking the Multiple-Choice section. Main Idea: About the AP History Exam Multiple Choice Problems
Notes

1. Four out of five of the Multiple Choice problems are wrong.

2. Accuracy is more important then a good time.

3. With the Multiple Choice questions, to make it easier on yourself, you can Read the Question and put it in your own words, Answer in your own words, POE (Process of Elimination) then guess and move onto the next question.
4. Set a good pace for the questions that you will be answering during the test.

First Post

2008-08-05T10:31:00.000-07:00

My AP World History blog.